Trying New Things/Struggling with New Things

I promised myself... and my husband (lol) that this pregnancy, I would stay off pinterest...well at least the "Food" part of pinterest. FAIL.

I have a condition where if I see something delicious, & I am even remotely hungry, and that particular thing looks good...It doesn't leave. What is that called? It's only when I'm pregnant.

Haha, anyway. Chicken Salad has been my thing for about 4 days. Why? Because I saw it on Pinterest. So today, I went to Target and grabbed just a few things to complete the recipe. I actually made up my own version. And we ate it for lunch... and we (Fatty and I) loved every last bite of it. I tried to make it for today only (because I am really terrible at eating the same thing twice in early pregnancy), but I think I made enough for 2 more sandwiches. And my husband doesn't like chicken salad, so I am stuck with it.

Here's a picture and recipe after in case now you, too are hungry for some goodness:

2 piece of Whole Wheat Bread
4 pieces of lettuce

1-2 chicken breasts cooked & seasoned & chopped to bite size
 1 hard boiled egg chopped
2 tablespoons of organic mayo
2 tablespoons of plain greek yogurt
4 chopped green onions
2 chopped celery
8 pieces of spinach chopped
salt n pepper
(You can also add corn, black beans, tomatoes or black olives, but we were too hungry to mess with all that)
mix all these ingredients together, then put on the bread with lettuce. Eat.

Super packed with protein & greens.  Your body will thank you. Now, I am hoping to just keep it in. I made myself a really good smoothy to eat this morning
(Watermelon, strawberries, banana, cranberry juice, spinach and kale cubes, blueberries, flax seeds, pinaeapple greek yogurt, lemon, honey) and I have fought so so hard to keep it IN all day. Dry heaved a ton, but it stayed put. (I honestly would rather just throw it up, dry heaving it just as bad, but oh well)

A friend suggested I try sucking hard core on Jolly Ranchers...to help with Nausea, Stomach Aches, etc. So, I ran go some of these today:

Sucking on one right now, hope they help....with something.

Lately, I have also been playing around with a few different things for my hair and teeth.

My hair is red with lots of blonde highlights, so it needs tons of moisture. Plus, I really would love for it to grow faster, even living on the best of the best pre-natals out there for, oh, I don't know, going on a year and a half now, still I don't see it growing faster. 

So, I read something on Pinterest a few weeks ago that this lady does. It can be time-consuming, but super worth it.

Right before you wash your hair, take a decent size handful of coconut oil and massage it into your scalp. Then, take another huge handful (well, my hair is long, so depending on your length) (too much won't hurt, just be harder to wash out.) and rub into the rest of your hair, coating the ends.

Then, twist it up and stick it on the top of your head, cover with cap. I rigged up something that holds my hair-dryer on the counter and I can sit on the rug and read devotions while it blows hot heat on low for 15 minutes. OR, you can leave it on for 30, while walking around the house, getting stuff done.

We also love doing this in the summer, while laying out. BEST.  

I began adding Virgin Olive Oil (a quarter size) all over my hair on top of the Coconut Oil, too. 

I have been doing this 2x a week for 3 weeks now and it has changed the texture of my hair. It is so soft! And I know it is helping my hair at least strengthen, if not grow faster. We'll see.

Another thing that has helped is stopping using Pantene Pro-V and spending a few extra bucks (Like $6) on Joico (it was on sale) shampoo WITHOUT sulfates or Sodium LAURYL --the super bad detergent for your hair that strips it and is in almost EVERY single "cheap" shampoo.

Anyway, I am not obsessed with my hair, I am just trying to help it out. :) 

About 2 years ago, I heard about brushing your teeth with baking soda.

"Mildly alkaline, baking soda dissolves in water in order to penetrate tooth enamel. With a slightly abrasive action, the free radicals that are emitted once baking soda is mixed in water help to scrape off the yellow or brown stains that buildup from drinking coffee, tea, colas or from smoking or chewing tobacco. In this way, the mixture is able to break down discoloration as it interacts with stain molecules to lighten and brighten teeth.

Baking soda also removes plaque, helping to prevent toothy decay and to freshen the breath. As one of the least expensive substances on the market, using baking soda is a great way to avoid spending money on commercial teeth whitening kits or thousands of dollars on in-office whitening treatments."

 

So, I began doing this about 2 years ago, 1x a day. I just buy a regular box of baking soda, get my toothbrush wet and sprinkle some on. It's not a great taste, compared to the sweetness of toothpaste. Put you just try to coat all of your teeth, then swish around for a lil bit. Do this FIRST, then brush with regular toothpaste to get that saltiness out. At least, that is what I do. :)

 

Anyway, I do a bunch of other stuff "naturally", like deodorant, hair detangler, face wipes/make-up remover, etc. But we won't go into that today. I am hoping to move into homemade laundry detergent that my Mom has made and works (!) and ALL homemade home cleaner.

 

Ok, 2 more things than on with the other stuff.

I read about ways to regrow your own celery and green onions on...pinterest. (Dang, where would I be without this?) And I am trying it! I have celery from today's chicken salad. I bought organic specifically for this:

So, this idea is to cut it down to just the base. Instead of tossing the base, rinse it off and place it in a small saucer or bowl of warm water on or near a sunny windowsill — base side down and cut stalks facing upright. 

Then after about a week, you should begin to see lil sprouts. Then transfer celery base to a planter and cover it completely except for the new leaf tips with a mixture of dirt and potting soil. Check out my pinterest for more instructions. 

 

SO, this is my first "growing my own food" experiment. I hope it succeeds, because I have big plans for this Spring and a garden. 

 

Apparently, with green onion, you can do the SAME thing, REGROW it with what you have! Insane.

Basically just keeping the roots you do not use in water with the remaining green onions, in one week, you're supposed to have an entire new green onion in replace of the one you used? So, I am going to try to get that started today and see if it works. All I need is a sunny window for both of these projects. Oh, wait, it's dreary outside, for the 100th day in a row. Two thumbs down.

 

But I will let you know how these turn out. :)

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Things I'm struggling with & PRAYING about right now:

 

Fear playing itself out in my dreams.

Last night, I dreamt, for the like 8th time that I was miscarrying baby #2. I literally "peed" this baby out and it hurt. And it would, at this point, being the size of a peach. I remember trying to grab the baby out of the toilet...and I remember feeling SO depressed that I lost the baby AND that I would have to relive the WORST parts of pregnancy (wks 7-18) again AFTER trying to get pregnant again. UGH. Not fun. I wake up and just pray and surrender the baby to the Lord again and ask the Lord for peace. And He gives it. Please pray for me. 

Contentment.

I am ready for something new. I am going crazy. In my mind, I have the perfect solution. However, I can't do one bit to control that or make it happen. So, I Wait. Watch. Pray. I would love to be

1. back in Florida (even just for a lil bit)

2. purchasing our first home BEFORE baby #2.

I need to be keeping my mind way busier and be working with my hands. Ever since Greyson went with Jesus, my husband and I have prayed for open doors for me. His life "went on" with work, mine did not. 

Sooo, it has been a huge challenge. I have time, so I am praying God fills it. And I am involved in a few different things, and I keep busy, but I would love to be fixing up a home right now. 

Like this one:

It's 20 miles North of  Sarasota, Florida, where we are attempting to move. I am praying God saves this house just for us. It has land (1-2 acres, not much, but perfect) enough bedrooms for our babies and company. A big lanai annnnnnddddd a pool!

Enough for a decent size garden, fruit trees and mostly, playing.

And the pool= my favorite part. I love this house. Maybe, say a prayer we can have it? Lol. :)

Yesterday, the Lord was convicting me of just praying selfishly...
James 4:3
"You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so you can spend it on your pleasure." So I repented and am trying to go from there. Asking how He can use these next 5 months best before baby but also serving others and being available. Even though...

I still feel extremely anti-social.
Sometimes my only goal when leaving the house is to NOT run into anyone I know. I don't want to have a fake conversation. I don't want to hear about how great your life is going. I am ssoo mean . And I do not feel like my life is going so badly, I really don't. I just still live in this world of "my baby died and isn't here" so the things I hear from some people, I just have trouble caring about.  (GOOD FRIENDS, this does not apply.)

And finally...

I am struggling with feeling depressed at times.
I had this with Greyson UNTIL we got to Florida. It's the longgggg winter nights, combined with being sick for weeks and having bad stomach aches almost every evening that I can do nothing about, not being able to go outside ever or go on long walks with my hubby without freezing to death, and of course hormones. And this time, add grief to the mix.

 So, I am praying about this one, AND all the others of course. But I just want to snap out of it, LIVE ABOVE MY CIRCUMSTANCES and find joy in the Lord as I WAIT for His guidance over our lives.

Definitely learning patience.

Sorry to ramble on and on. This is just where I'm at and what I'm doing right now. Thank you SO much for your prayers. :)

And we know that God causes everything to work together or the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28)

 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Phil 4:8)